Patents by Inventor Karl Dean Minto

Karl Dean Minto has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11619145
    Abstract: A method for block loading an electrical grid with a combined cycle power plant (CCPP) includes operating a gas turbine system of the CCPP in an islanding mode with a steam turbine system of the CCPP off line with turning gear rotating only; loading the steam turbine system accordingly to temperature matching conditions of the steam turbine system, the loading of the steam turbine system includes controlling gas turbine exhaust fed to the steam turbine system and the gas turbine exhaust temperature heats the steam turbine system and to meet temperature matching conditions of the steam turbine system; wherein controlling gas turbine exhaust includes controlling fuel flow and air flow to the gas turbine system; and operating at least one of the gas turbine system and steam turbine system to block load the electrical grid from a load on at least one of gas turbine system and steam turbine system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Karl Dean Minto, John Rogers Huey, Quentin Lorron
  • Publication number: 20220356820
    Abstract: A method for block loading an electrical grid with a combined cycle power plant (CCPP) includes operating a gas turbine system of the CCPP in an islanding mode with a steam turbine system of the CCPP off line with turning gear rotating only; loading the steam turbine system accordingly to temperature matching conditions of the steam turbine system, the loading of the steam turbine system includes controlling gas turbine exhaust fed to the steam turbine system and the gas turbine exhaust temperature heats the steam turbine system and to meet temperature matching conditions of the steam turbine system; wherein controlling gas turbine exhaust includes controlling fuel flow and air flow to the gas turbine system; and operating at least one of the gas turbine system and steam turbine system to block load the electrical grid from a load on at least one of gas turbine system and steam turbine system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2021
    Publication date: November 10, 2022
    Inventors: Karl Dean Minto, John Rogers Huey, Quentin Lorron
  • Patent number: 11248536
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a system includes a gas turbine controller. The gas turbine controller is configured to receive a plurality of sensor signals from a fuel composition sensor, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a flow sensor, or a combination thereof, included in a gas turbine engine system. The controller is further configured to execute a gas turbine model by applying the plurality of sensor signals as input to derive a plurality of estimated gas turbine engine parameters. The controller is also configured to execute a flame holding model by applying the plurality of sensor signals and the plurality of estimated gas turbine engine parameters as input to derive a steam flow to fuel flow ratio that minimizes or eliminates flame holding in a fuel nozzle of the gas turbine engine system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Karl Dean Minto, Douglas Frank Beadie, Ilya Aleksandrovich Slobodyanskiy
  • Patent number: 11050651
    Abstract: Systems and methods for health monitoring and upgrade of a distributed controller are provided. According to one embodiment of the disclosure, a method for health monitoring and upgrade of a distributed controller may commence with receiving, by a lower level controller from a high-level controller, high-level control references. The method may further include generating low-level control references for a hardware asset based at least in part on the high-level control references. The method may include monitoring the network connection and detecting an error in the network connection. In response to the detection of the error in the network connection, a control of the hardware asset may be transferred to the low-level controller. The method may further include determining that the network connection has been restored. In response to the determination that the network connection has been restored, the control of the hardware asset may be transferred to the high-level controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Benjamin David Laskowski, John Raffensperger, Timothy Lee Janssen, William Forrester Seely, Christopher Long, Karl Dean Minto
  • Patent number: 10727768
    Abstract: A system includes a control system configured to control one or more parameters of an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) gas turbine system to control a portion of electrical power for export from a generator driven by the turbine to an electrical grid. The control system includes a closed-loop controller configured to control parameters of the EGR gas turbine system and an open-loop controller configured to temporarily control the parameters of the EGR gas turbine system to increase the portion of the electrical power exported to the electrical grid to provide a Primary Frequency Response (PFR) in response to a transient event associated with the electrical power. The open-loop controller is configured to provide control signals to increase a concentration of an oxidant in a combustor to provide the PFR in response to the transient event when the EGR gas turbine system is operating in an emissions compliant mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Richard A. Huntington, Karl Dean Minto, Bin Xu, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Aaron Lavene Vorel
  • Patent number: 10662959
    Abstract: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more processor-executable instructions wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by a processor of a controller, cause acts to be performed including receiving signals representative of pressure between respective compressor blade tips and a casing of a compressor at one or more stages, generating multiple patterns based on a permutation entropy window and the signals, identifying multiple pattern categories in the multiple patterns, determining a permutation entropy based on the multiple patterns and the multiple pattern categories, predicting an anomaly in the compressor based on the permutation entropy, comparing the multiple pattern categories to determined permutations of pattern categories when an anomaly is present in the compressor, and predicting a category of the anomaly based on the comparison of the multiple pattern categories to the determined permutation of pattern categories.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Sidharth Abrol, Karl Dean Minto, Nisam Palakkavalappil Rahiman, Prabhanjana Kalya, Wrichik Basu, Corey Nicholas Bufi
  • Patent number: 10655542
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a system includes a drive train starter system. The drive train starter system includes a generator mechanically coupled to a drive train of a gas turbine system and an exciter system electrically coupled to the generator and configured to provide a magnetic field. The drive train starter system additionally includes a load commutated inverter (LCI) electrically coupled to the generator and configured to provide electrical power to the generator and a controller communicatively coupled to the generator, the exciter system, and the LCI. The controller is configured to start up the drive train via the LCI and the generator up to less than a drive train operating speed, wherein the generator is converting electricity into mechanical motion; drive the drive train via a gas turbine up to the drive train operating speed; and to drive the drive train via the generator at the drive train operating speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Brian Allen Rittenhouse, Karl Dean Minto
  • Publication number: 20190207840
    Abstract: Systems and methods for health monitoring and upgrade of a distributed controller are provided. According to one embodiment of the disclosure, a method for health monitoring and upgrade of a distributed controller may commence with receiving, by a lower level controller from a high-level controller, high-level control references. The method may further include generating low-level control references for a hardware asset based at least in part on the high-level control references. The method may include monitoring the network connection and detecting an error in the network connection. In response to the detection of the error in the network connection, a control of the hardware asset may be transferred to the low-level controller. The method may further include determining that the network connection has been restored. In response to the determination that the network connection has been restored, the control of the hardware asset may be transferred to the high-level controller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 4, 2018
    Publication date: July 4, 2019
    Inventors: Benjamin David Laskowski, John Raffensperger, Timothy Lee Janssen, William Forrester Seely, Christopher Long, Karl Dean Minto
  • Patent number: 10208677
    Abstract: A gas turbine system includes a combustor configured to combust an oxidant and a fuel in the presence of an exhaust gas diluent to produce combustion products, an oxidant supply path fluidly coupled to the combustor and configured to flow the oxidant to the combustor at an oxidant flow rate, and a turbine configured to extract work from the combustion products to produce an exhaust gas used to generate the exhaust gas diluent. The turbine causes a shaft of the gas turbine system to rotate when the work is extracted from the combustion products. The system also includes an electrical generator that generates electrical power in response to rotation by the shaft, and a controller that performs load control in response to a target load by adjusting the oxidant flow rate along the oxidant flow path as a primary load control parameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Karl Dean Minto, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Brian Allen Rittenhouse, Aaron Vorel
  • Publication number: 20190013756
    Abstract: A system includes a control system configured to control one or more parameters of an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) gas turbine system to control a portion of electrical power for export from a generator driven by the turbine to an electrical grid. The control system includes a closed-loop controller configured to control parameters of the EGR gas turbine system and an open-loop controller configured to temporarily control the parameters of the EGR gas turbine system to increase the portion of the electrical power exported to the electrical grid to provide a Primary Frequency Response (PFR) in response to a transient event associated with the electrical power. The open-loop controller is configured to provide control signals to increase a concentration of an oxidant in a combustor to provide the PFR in response to the transient event when the EGR gas turbine system is operating in an emissions compliant mode.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 4, 2018
    Publication date: January 10, 2019
    Inventors: Richard A. Huntington, Karl Dean Minto, Bin Xu, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Aaron Lavene Vorel
  • Patent number: 10107495
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a gas turbine system includes a controller configured to receive fuel composition information related to a fuel used for combustion in a turbine combustor; receive oxidant composition information related to an oxidant used for combustion in the turbine combustor; receive oxidant flow information related to a flow of the oxidant to the turbine combustor; determine a stoichiometric fuel-to-oxidant ratio based at least on the fuel composition information and the oxidant composition information; and generate a control signal for input to a fuel flow control system configured to control a flow of the fuel to the turbine combustor based on the oxidant flow information, a target equivalence ratio, and the stoichiometric fuel-to-oxidant ratio to enable combustion at the target equivalence ratio in the presence of an exhaust diluent within the turbine combustor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2018
    Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventor: Karl Dean Minto
  • Publication number: 20180283391
    Abstract: A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more processor-executable instructions wherein the one or more instructions, when executed by a processor of a controller, cause acts to be performed including receiving signals representative of pressure between respective compressor blade tips and a casing of a compressor at one or more stages, generating multiple patterns based on a permutation entropy window and the signals, identifying multiple pattern categories in the multiple patterns, determining a permutation entropy based on the multiple patterns and the multiple pattern categories, predicting an anomaly in the compressor based on the permutation entropy, comparing the multiple pattern categories to determined permutations of pattern categories when an anomaly is present in the compressor, and predicting a category of the anomaly based on the comparison of the multiple pattern categories to the determined permutation of pattern categories.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2017
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Inventors: Sidharth Abrol, Karl Dean Minto, Nisam Palakkavalappil Rahiman, Prabhanjana Kalya, Wrichik Basu, Corey Nicholas Bufi
  • Patent number: 10079564
    Abstract: A non-transitory, computer readable medium stores instructions executable by a processor of an electronic device. The instructions include instructions to determine that a transient event is occurring in an electrical grid coupled to an EGR gas turbine system, wherein the transient event is an under-frequency or an under-voltage event. The instructions also include instructions to increase a flow rate of fuel to a combustor of the EGR gas turbine system in response to the transient event when the EGR gas turbine system is operating in a non-stoichiometric combustion mode. The instructions further include instructions to increase a flow rate of oxidant to the combustor before increasing the flow rate of fuel to the combustor, or to decrease a local consumption of the electrical power to increase a portion of the electrical power that is exported to the attached electrical grid, or both, in response to the transient event when the EGR gas turbine system is operating in a stoichiometric combustion mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Richard A. Huntington, Karl Dean Minto, Bin Xu, Jonathan Carl Thatcher, Aaron Lavene Vorel
  • Patent number: 10060359
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a system includes at least one sensor configured to communicate a signal representative of blower vane position, wherein the blower vane is disposed in a blower of an exhaust gas recirculation system receiving exhaust from a gas turbine system and recycling the exhaust gas back to the gas turbine system. The system further includes a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor, wherein the controller is configured to execute a control logic to derive a reference value for the blower vane position, and wherein the controller is configured to apply a direct limit, an model-based limit, or a combination thereof, to the reference value to derive a limit-based value, and wherein the controller is configured to position the blower vane based on the limit-based value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Karl Dean Minto, Todd Franklin Denman, Franklin F. Mittricker, Richard Alan Huntington
  • Patent number: 10033316
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a control system includes a processor. The processor is configured to receive signals from one or more sensors disposed in a gas turbine system, wherein the gas turbine system comprises a shaft mechanically coupled to an electric generator. The processor is further configured to predict a derived mechanical power for the shaft based on the signals. The processor is additionally configured to derive a power adjustment by executing at least one model. The processor is also configured to derive a corrected mechanical power by applying the power adjustment to the derived mechanical power; and to control the gas turbine system based on the corrected mechanical power.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Sunil Unnikrishnan, Karl Dean Minto, Omprakash Pobbati
  • Publication number: 20180097463
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a control system includes a processor. The processor is configured to receive signals from one or more sensors disposed in a gas turbine system, wherein the gas turbine system comprises a shaft mechanically coupled to an electric generator. The processor is further configured to predict a derived mechanical power for the shaft based on the signals. The processor is additionally configured to derive a power adjustment by executing at least one model. The processor is also configured to derive a corrected mechanical power by applying the power adjustment to the derived mechanical power; and to control the gas turbine system based on the corrected mechanical power.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2016
    Publication date: April 5, 2018
    Inventors: Sunil Unnikrishnan, Karl Dean Minto, Omprakash Pobbati
  • Patent number: 9915200
    Abstract: A system includes a fuel control system configured to control a fuel flow to one or more combustors and an oxidant control system configured to control an oxidant flow to each combustor of the one or more combustors, wherein the oxidant flow is configured to at least partially react with the fuel flow within the one or more combustors to form an exhaust gas flow. The system also includes an exhaust gas system configured to direct a recirculation flow of the exhaust gas flow to each combustor of the one or more combustors; and a controller coupled to the fuel control system, the oxidant control system, and the exhaust gas system. The controller is configured to independently control a fuel-to-oxidant ratio and an exhaust gas-to-oxidant ratio. The FOR is the fuel flow divided by the oxidant flow, and the EGOR is the recirculation flow divided by the oxidant flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignees: GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, EXXONMOBIL UPSTREAM RESEARCH COMPANY
    Inventors: Karl Dean Minto, Ilya Aleksandrovich Slobodyanskiy, Lewis Berkley Davis, Jr., John Joseph Lipinski
  • Patent number: 9903588
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a system includes a turbine combustor having a combustor liner disposed about a combustion chamber, a head end upstream of the combustion chamber relative to a downstream direction of a flow of combustion gases through the combustion chamber, a flow sleeve disposed at an offset about the combustor liner to define a passage, and a barrier within the passage. The head end is configured to direct an oxidant flow and a first fuel flow toward the combustion chamber. The passage is configured to direct a gas flow toward the head end and to direct a portion of the oxidant flow toward a turbine end of the turbine combustor. The gas flow includes a substantially inert gas. The barrier is configured to block the portion of the oxidant flow toward the turbine end and to block the gas flow toward the head end within the passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Ilya Aleksandrovich Slobodyanskiy, Lewis Berkley Davis, Jr., Karl Dean Minto
  • Patent number: 9863267
    Abstract: A system includes plurality of combustors and a distributed flow measurement system coupled to the plurality of combustors. Each combustor of the plurality of combustors includes one or more oxidant passages and one or more fuel passages. The distributed flow measurement system is configured to measure an oxidant flow rate for a respective oxidant passage of the one or more oxidant passages of the respective combustor based at least in part on an oxidant pressure drop along the respective oxidant passage, and the distributed flow measurement system is configured to measure a fuel flow rate for a respective fuel passage of the one or more fuel passages of the respective combustor based at least in part on a fuel pressure drop along the respective fuel passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignees: General Electric Company, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company
    Inventors: Dennis M. O'Dea, Karl Dean Minto, Richard A. Huntington, Sulabh K. Dhanuka, Franklin F. Mittricker
  • Publication number: 20170363015
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a system includes a gas turbine controller. The gas turbine controller is configured to receive a plurality of sensor signals from a fuel composition sensor, a pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, a flow sensor, or a combination thereof, included in a gas turbine engine system. The controller is further configured to execute a gas turbine model by applying the plurality of sensor signals as input to derive a plurality of estimated gas turbine engine parameters. The controller is also configured to execute a flame holding model by applying the plurality of sensor signals and the plurality of estimated gas turbine engine parameters as input to derive a steam flow to fuel flow ratio that minimizes or eliminates flame holding in a fuel nozzle of the gas turbine engine system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 20, 2016
    Publication date: December 21, 2017
    Inventors: Karl Dean Minto, Douglas Frank Beadie, Ilya Aleksandrovich Slobodyanskiy